Synopsis

Mercenary John Ouzos continues his unglamorous journey through the stars! Despite just having survived an epic battle between two noble belligerents—and rescuing a fair maiden in the process—he’s received no acclaim…and frankly, he doesn’t want any. Whether he’s being called to war or to work security on a commercial milk run, he always does his best to stay out of trouble. Though his talents could propel him near the top of the mercenary rankings, that would mean a lot more official business and run-ins with far more snobby nobles. This installment sees Ouzos traveling to distant star systems once again, and he’s showing few signs of changing his tune. Does he look like the protagonist of this story? No way! He’s just an NPC… But why are some people—including beautiful women—giving him all this unwanted attention? He’d rather be left alone to watch anime and read light novels! (Source: J-Novel Club)

A Second Day in the Life of an NPC Mercenary!

In a galaxy far, far away, rumoured tales of a mob mercenary getting a bit too much unwanted attention have started to make the rounds again.

The second instalment of Toryuu’s space opera parody, The Dorky NPC Mercenary Knows His Place, sees John Ouzos back in action on board his beloved Patchwork. Plying his trade across the known universe involves him in all sorts of scrapes he’d rather avoid, as pirates, terrorists, and overzealous nobles find new ways to make the bounty all that more difficult to collect.

When I originally reviewed the first volume of this series, I was impressed and frankly relieved at how the story took a tired and hated trope, ultimately turning it on its head. So much so that I gave it a spot on a list of my favourite new light novels of the year. Unfortunately, in this case, I put the cart before the horse.

For Ouzos’s latest adventures, his lack of self-confidence and belief that he’s an NPC in a world of protagonists rears its ugly head again, manifesting itself throughout the story. Whilst not normally a problem, on this occasion it comes across as a severe case of backtracking in light of the progress already made.

In this volume, those characters who he made progress with only play small roles in this story, very little of which is spent interacting with the protagonist. This only exacerbates matters when the latest volume features a new cast for his mercenary quest, none of whom serve to overturn this beleaguered trope.

Fortunately, beyond its character missteps, the author proves their strength still lies in sci-fi. Each of the quests featured in the novel are clever adaptations of standard isekai fantasy adventurer’s guild jobs, once again. The comet-cutting mission is a standout this time, due to its realistic sense of time. Not all jobs can be done in a day, and the author should be commended for realising this concept within the space of a chapter.

Moreover, another aspect of the previous volume that has carried over positively is the author’s talent for creating expansive, fully alien worlds. This volume features several different worlds, from worlds bleached white due to high levels of atmospheric sodium chloride to the concept of spacecraft stop-off created to avoid systems filled with planets sharing a hostile environment.

Coming hot off the heels of a positively received opening adventure, the second instalment of The Dorky NPC Mercenary is a noticeable step back in quality. This volume seeks to embolden a tired trope, and not in a good way. With minimal interaction from the cast of the last volume, progress to overturn its central trope reaches a standstill, ultimately leaving the protagonist to circle the same old self-confidence problems. Thankfully, the sci-fi in the series is still on point. There’s plenty to get your teeth around as it adapts more isekai quests to space opera standards, and the worlds are varied and suitably alien. Perhaps focusing more on this will see a positive future for the series.

I Give NPC Mercenary Volume 2: 7/10